[Also known as Sui Feng. Completed manuscript in progress, expected to launch at the end of the year]
He could do nothing but watch as those people climbed over him and tried to seduce his wife.
Gao Ye, Gao Suifeng.
Cool and breathtaking, with a nature as solitary as the wind, she was the noblewoman every person in the capital admired. Her family was powerful, her talent exceptional, and the emperor himself had chosen her as the crown prince's bride.
But a month before the wedding, at a gathering with her colleagues, Gao Ye was ambushed and defiled by a brute.
Fortunately, she did not conceive. If she kept quiet, she could still become the crown prince's bride. But in just two days, those who meant her harm had spread the scandal throughout the capital and countryside.
The emperor was furious. The engagement was called off, and overnight she became the laughingstock of the entire city.
With no other choice, Gao Ye pretended to be married to a former student of her late father, hoping to quell the scandal and keep up appearances.
Though her husband was frail with illness, he was kind and considerate. They treated each other with respect, and Gao Ye seemed to have returned to her peaceful life of old.
But stability was only temporary...
Her former fiance, the crown prince, was as gracious and refined as ever. Smiling, he blocked her way to work. "My dear Xiaoye, come to the Eastern Palace at once. I've brewed tea and boiled water, and I'm waiting to talk with you."
Gao Ye, annoyed: Smiling snake.
Her wickedly charming childhood friend raced back from the border. Still in his black armor, he leaped from his horse and exploded with rage. "Why? Why did you marry him without even asking me?"
Gao Ye, annoyed: Hothead.
Her frail cousin was thrown out of his home and came to her for help. Clutching her sleeve, his eyes reddening, he said, "My sister has always been the moon in the sky. I would never dare to profane her, but would you ever turn around and look at me?"
Gao Ye, annoyed: Green tea.
The sickly, possessive prince kept turning up. In the rain, he pinched her chin and laughed with wild arrogance. "My name is Yuan Zhang. Zhang as in arrogant, Zhang as in haughty... Sister-in-law, long time no see."
Gao Ye, annoyed: Lunatic.
Each of these men had his own agenda. One used the bonds of their former school days to bind her, another tried to tempt her with his looks, and all of them constantly tested her.
Surrounded by wolves and tigers, Gao Ye watched coldly, seeing every trace of greed and calculation in their eyes.
No one expected this entanglement, which began with power and lust, to reach such an unexpected conclusion...
"I know all of you came here with an agenda. What makes you think I don't have one too?"
A chaotic age was coming, and the imperial power was tottering. A secret had long circulated at court: the ruler who obtained the blood of a Gao woman could bring peace to the realm and usher in a golden age.
Heaven's decree said she would be rich or noble, but no one pointed out the truth:
She was the riches.
She was the nobility.
She was never a pawn to be fought over.
She was the one moving the pieces.
Reader's Guide and Content Notes:
Heterosexual romance, happy ending, brawling-at-the-village-gate style.
At the start, she and her husband are pretending to be married, and the marriage is not consummated.
An entanglement of power and desire, trading advantage for true affection. The heroine is kind and clear-headed, not a female supremacist. All the male leads are sexually inexperienced, and the ending is a romance-focused ensemble. The main characters each have their own roles, and each has flaws and merits. The setting is a single country with two systems: Tang and Han administrative structures, with everything else fictionalized.
[Blurb dated February 19, 2026]
Theme: "The Way alone is good at lending and bringing things to completion."
